Making friends with former Swedish Prime Minister, 91, at a bus stop

Two-hour lunch and conversation that followed

- BY SUNILA WIJESINGHE

My friend Priyanwada and I were driving along a street in the Tyreso municipality of Stockholm, Sweden, and she suddenly stopped her car recognizing a familiar figure at a bus stop and saying, "Ah, our former prime minister is at the bus stop.

Ingvar Carlsson, a two-time prime minister of Sweden, was waiting for a bus to travel to Stockholm for a political event. He only drives to Stockholm when it is absolutely necessary. "People recognize me on the bus and train and talk to me. I like that," he says.

Carlsson, who sat in the Swedish Parliament for all of 38 years, is a well-known political leader not only in Sweden but also in Europe. Sweden, one of the world’s leading welfare states, is headed by King Carl Gustaf; it is the third largest country in the European Union with a territory totaling 450,295 square kilometers.

Carlsson served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 1982 to 1986, before becoming prime minister from 1986 to 1991 and 1994 to 1996. He was elected PM in a parliamentary election in 1986 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Olof Palme, polling 178 votes in favour and zero votes against. The Carlsson government's economic policy, social vision, and ability to work with opposition parties have contributed greatly to Sweden's rise as a developed country not only in Europe but also in the world, justifying the trust placed in him by the people and the parliament as well.

When the Carlsson government was formed in 1986, Sweden's budget deficit was 90 billion kronor. It covered the deficit by imposing taxes on high-income earners, increasing interest on loans, reducing spending, and cutting aid to the other countries.